Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

अथ प्रयातुमारेभे पंथानं पितृसेवितम् । सावित्र्यपि वरारोहा पृष्ठतोऽनुजगाम ह

Transliteration

atha prayātumārebhe paṃthānaṃ pitṛsevitam | sāvitryapi varārohā pṛṣṭhato'nujagāma ha

Translation

ನಂತರ ಅವನು ಪಿತೃಗಳು ಸಂಚರಿಸುವ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಸಲು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದನು. ಸಾವಿತ್ರಿಯೂ ಕೂಡ ಅವನ ಹಿಂದೆ ಹೋದಳು.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha/Discourse marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (indeclinable particle: then)

• प्रयातुम्: to depart
• प्रयातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु) उपसर्ग: प्र- + तुमुन्
• Form: तुमन्त (infinitive); प्रयोजनार्थक (to depart/go)

• आरेभे: began
• आरेभे: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रभ् (धातु) उपसर्ग: आ-
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• पन्थानम्: the path
• पन्थानम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पथिन्/पन्थान् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• पितृ-सेवितम्: frequented/served by the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• पितृ-सेवितम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + सेवित (कृदन्त, सेव् धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष: पितृभिः सेवितम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (पन्थानम्)

• सावित्री: Sāvitrī
• सावित्री: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सावित्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-भाव (also/even)

• वरारोहा: the noble lady (of fair ascent)
• वरारोहा: Kartā (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक) + आरोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास (वरः आरोहः यस्याः/या = excellent-rider/one of noble ascent); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सावित्र्याः विशेषण/उपाधि

• पृष्ठतः: from behind
• पृष्ठतः: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय; देशवाचक (from behind/behind)

• अनुजगाम: followed
• अनुजगाम: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) उपसर्ग: अनु-
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ह: indeed
• ह: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पदपूरण/निपात (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (as narrative threshold to pitṛ-mārga)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama proceeds along the ancestral path; Sāvitrī follows behind—composed, determined—on a road that shifts from earthly landscape to subtle, twilight otherworld.

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī
• Yama (implied)
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast devotion is shown as unwavering even at liminal thresholds—Sāvitrī does not abandon her dharmic commitment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra remains the Māhātmya frame; the verse emphasizes the ancestral path concept rather than a particular shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the mention of the Pitṛ-path indirectly resonates with Pitṛ-related dharma (śrāddha), but it is not stated here.